Paul Pierce Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Doc Rivers Talks Pierce, Allen, KG, Griffin

September 7th, 2016 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers made an appearance in Boston at the annual ABCD Hoops Dream fundraiser at TD Garden on Tuesday, and made time for a discussion with reporters. Given the location of the event, it was no surprise that many of the questions focused on the NBA futures – or lack thereof – for the Celtics’ old “big three” of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett.

In addition to discussing Pierce, Allen, and Garnett, the Clippers’ coach addressed a few other topics, including the offseason’s Blake Griffin trade rumors. ESPN’s Chris Forsberg has a nice round-up of Rivers’ comments, so let’s check out a few of the highlights….

On whether Pierce will be back for his 19th season, as has been reported:

“Depends on the day I talk to him. Paul has had the summer, he’s gone back and forth. … Paul didn’t have the best year last year. I don’t think he wants to go out that way. So I think that’s why he’s working to try to come back. But he still may change his mind next week. So we just have to wait. I told him if I see him at training camp, I’m assuming he’s playing.”

On Pierce’s eventual retirement:

“The day [Pierce] retires, he’s going to retire a Celtic. He has to. Paul’s a Celtic. So when he retires, he’s got to retire as a Celtic. I don’t think anyone disagrees with me.”

On whether Allen will return to the NBA:

“I don’t know. I won’t talk about what we talked about. I think if Ray was in the right spot, he may play. I think Ray wants to golf a lot too, right now. But Ray is in amazing shape. I don’t know how he does that. I didn’t know how he does that as a player; I don’t know how he does it as a non-player. He’s probably in top-five shape in the NBA. So could Ray play? Absolutely, I believe he could.”

On Garnett’s situation with the Timberwolves:

“I think Kevin – and I know it, because I talk to him – loves the young guys on his team. He loves how they work. He thinks they have an old-school mentality. So I think he’s really gotten into Kevin, the teacher. And I honestly never saw that coming, either. Yet he was a phenomenal teacher with [Boston]; I just didn’t think he would have the patience to do it. And I think Kevin loves teaching these young guys.”

On the Griffin trade rumors:

“We knew none of it was true. We figured that was one of you guys starting these rumors here in Boston. I was trying to find out who it was … No, it happens, unfortunately. Blake and [Chris Paul] are free agents [after this season]. Just like last year Oklahoma [City] had to deal with that, now it’s our turn.”

Be sure to check out the rest of Rivers’ comments right here.

Paul Pierce Plans To Play This Season

August 16th, 2016 at 7:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Paul Pierce is planning to put off retirement and play for the Clippers during the 2016/17 season, multiple sources tell Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Daily News. Woike notes that Pierce has been conflicted with his decision all summer and cautions that another change is possible.

Pierce signed a three-year deal worth roughly $10MM last offseason. It was never his intention to play the entire deal out in Los Angeles.“I don’t have much basketball left — whether it’ll be this year or another year. To come home and play in front of family and friends and possibly win a championship, it’s like a dream come true,” Pierce said last year. “If we win this year, win a championship, I’ll probably be done with basketball to be honest.”

He struggled to make a major impact during his first year in Los Angeles, averaging just 6.1 points per game. The veteran said he didn’t want to make an emotional decision after the Clippers lost in the first round to the Blazers, but added at the time that “every heartbreak makes you want to come back.”

Pacific Notes: Gay, Pierce, Calathes, Kings, Suns

July 27th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

After Rudy Gay made some interesting comments that conveyed his dissatisfaction with his situation in Sacramento, Kings general manager Vlade Divac was asked about the disgruntled forward. As James Ham of CSN California details, Divac downplayed Gay’s comments about a lack of communication between him and the Kings as trade rumors swirl.

“He has my number,” the Kings GM said. “If I do something, I will call him. Obviously, if I didn’t call him, we didn’t do anything. … I was a player, 16-17 years in the league, nobody called me everyday and tell me what management is doing. Management was doing their job. If something big happened, they called and told me. Obviously, nothing big happened (so) I’m not going to call anybody.”

Let’s check in on a few other items from out of the Pacific division…

Paul Pierce has yet to formally announce a decision one way or the other about his future, and a source tells Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter links) that the veteran forward will take a few more weeks to weigh his options and make a final call. However, another source suggests to Turner that Pierce is planning to return to the Clippers for one more season.
As we heard earlier this week, the Kings made an effort to land Nick Calathes, but the former Grizzlies guard is “bound to return” to Panathinakos in Greece, according to international journalist David Pick.
The Suns have officially announced Earl Watson‘s coaching staff, confirming in a press release that Tyrone Corbin and Nate Bjorkgren will be assistants, with former Raptors coach Jay Triano serving as the club’s associate head coach.
After signing a three-year deal with the Suns, Jared Dudley has penned a piece for The Players’ Tribune about returning “home” and aiming to get the Suns back to their “2010 vibe.”

And-Ones: Gobert, Harkless, Pierce

July 11th, 2016 at 10:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz center Rudy Gobert will play for Team France in the Rio Olympics, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reports. He’ll join new Jazz teammate, Boris Diaw, on the squad. Utah swingman Joe Ingles will play for Team Australia and point guard Raul Neto will play for host Brazil, Genessy adds. Gobert did not participate in the Olympic qualifying tournament, when France nabbed the final spot in the field of 12.

In other news around the league:

Technology industry leaders are urging commissioner Adam Silver to move next year’s All-Star Game out of Charlotte unless a North Carolina law that limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people is repealed, according to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. The executives told Silver in a letter obtained by the AP that putting fans at risk of discrimination would “send a terrible message about who the NBA is and what it values as an organization.” Silver has made it clear the league needs changes to the HB2 law in order to stage the All-Star game but has not set any deadlines for when he might act, Mahoney adds.
Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless is in “no rush” to sign a contract, but the restricted free agent should make a decision in the next couple of days, his agent told Jason Quick of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). Harkless might accept the Blazers’ qualifying offer of just over $4MM, Quick adds. Several teams were reportedly interested in Harkless early in the free agent process, including the Wizards, Pistons, Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz, but some of those clubs have already made other commitments.
Clippers small forward Paul Pierce intends to play next season, a source close to Pierce informed Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The 38-year-old Pierce appeared in 68 regular-season games with them last season, averaging 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. He also played in five postseason games.
Point guard Flip Murray is attempting an NBA comeback, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 36-year-old Murray, who has been playing overseas, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2009/10 season.

Clippers To Pitch “Big Four” Scenario To Durant

June 30th, 2016 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers will be one of the first teams to sit down with Kevin Durant on his free agent tour, with KD on track to meet with the Clippers and Warriors on Friday. And according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register and Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi of ESPN.com, the Clippers will attempt to sell Durant on a scenario that would see him playing alongside Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan in Los Angeles, creating a “big four.”

It has long been assumed that, if they were to land Durant, the Clippers would have to jettison one of their top three players for cap purposes. However, Los Angeles is exploring scenarios that would allow the team to keep Paul, Griffin, and Jordan, while adding Durant. Per ESPN’s report, all three players have been invited to the Clips’ meeting with Durant in The Hamptons, which will be led by owner Steve Ballmer and coach Doc Rivers.

Selling Durant on such a scenario may not be easy, and it won’t be simple to actually execute either. Even if the Clippers were able to trade J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce, C.J. Wilcox, and the rights to Brice Johnson without taking any salary back, and renounced all their pending free agents, the team wouldn’t have enough cap room to offer Durant a maximum-salary contract. By my count, Durant would have to start at around $23.5MM in that scenario, and the Clippers would be left with only the $2.898MM room exception – and minimum-salary deals – to fill out their roster around their “big four.” A max salary for Durant is expected to start at approximately $26.6MM.

As the Clippers prepare their pitch to Durant, the Thunder’s brass is meeting with the former MVP today. However, since teams aren’t permitted to discuss contract parameters prior to July 1st, Oklahoma City is seeking a second meeting with Durant in The Hamptons next week, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). Those contract discussions likely wouldn’t take long – there’s little doubt the Thunder would offer a full, five-year max – but a second meeting would allow the team to get the final word after Durant has heard pitches from all his other suitors.

Pacific Notes: Livingston, Pierce, Stevens

June 28th, 2016 at 6:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors intend to keep Shaun Livingston on the roster for next season, Marc Stein and Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated relay. Livingston’s contract for 2016/17, worth $5,782,450, is partially guaranteed for $3MM and will become fully guaranteed if he is still a member of the team on Thursday, which will now be the case, according to the ESPN duo’s report. “I would love to be back with Warriors next year and feel there is something special cultivating with the organization,” Livingston told the scribes via text message. “The time spent there has allowed me the platform to see the ingredients of winning and the importance of culture.”

The 30-year-old appeared in 78 games this season for Golden State and averaged 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 19.5 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .536/.167/.860. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

If the Warriors miss out on signing unrestricted free agent Kevin Durant, the team could shift focus and look to add a proven big man, Stein and Spears relay in the same piece. Potential targets could include Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, David West and Timofey Mozgov, the duo note.
Veteran Clippers forward Paul Pierce remains undecided about continuing his playing career next season or retiring, but is expected to make his decision over the next couple of weeks, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (via Twitter). Pierce has two seasons remaining on his current contract and is slated to earn $3,527,920 for his work in 2016/17 if he chooses to suit up for an 18th campaign.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens is regarded as one of the top coaches in the game and according to Suns GM Ryan McDonough, Phoenix made a run at hiring him prior to Boston convincing Stevens to leave Butler for the NBA, Jay King of Mass Live writes. The two sides even had a meeting to discuss the post, King adds. “So yeah, we were at his kitchen table,” McDonough said. “We were meeting with him about potentially coaching the Suns. Ultimately he decided at that time to stay at Butler, and then a month or two later he chose to go to the Celtics. But as far as how close it was or what his decision-making process was, you’d have to ask him about that. But we were sitting around his kitchen table discussing him potentially coaching the Suns in May of 2013.“

Paul Pierce Remains Undecided On Future

June 9th, 2016 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

Paul Pierce said back in April after the Clippers were eliminated from the postseason that he was 50-50 about returning for another season, and it doesn’t appear that stance has changed. He has yet to decide whether or not he’ll play in 2016/17. However, as he tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, when it comes to who’s making that decision on his future, it’s not quite a 50-50 split.

“We always say it’s 51-49. I get 51 percent of the vote and the rest of [the family] gets 49,” Pierce said. “[My wife’s] input carried a lot of weight. We’ll figure out some things. I know I don’t want to be sitting at home, whatever I do, regardless. If I come back, it will be one more [season] and that will be it. No doubt.”

Pierce, who turns 39 in November, remains under contract with the Clippers for the next two seasons, though his 2017/18 salary is mostly non-guaranteed. While it sounds like the veteran forward might like to play one final year, he admitted that all the work that goes into preparing for a new season has worn on him as he nears age 40.

“Really, it’s all about how I feel mentally, getting up and I’m thinking about the grind,” Pierce said. “People don’t understand, I think a lot of guys retire because of what it takes to [get on the court] each season. You can take the grind once you are in it, but getting ready for the grind is the hard part.”

Pierce, who said he spoke to former teammate Kevin Garnett on Tuesday about his decision, figures to make the call in the coming weeks on whether or not to retire. That would give the Clippers a chance to enter the new league year in July knowing whether or not Pierce will be part of their plans for 2016/17.

In his first year in Los Angeles, Pierce struggled, establishing new career lows in points per game (6.1), field goal percentage (.363), PER (8.2), and many other categories.

Clippers Rumors: Griffin, Paul, Jordan, Crawford

May 2nd, 2016 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Doc Rivers hinted before the season that he would consider breaking up the team’s core if it fell short in the playoffs again, and trade speculation has surrounded Griffin for much of the year, but Rivers seems to maintain belief in what Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan can do, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The coach/executive said today that he doesn’t think the team’s window for title contention is closed, Markazi tweets.

“I like our team,” Rivers said after Friday’s season-ending loss to Portland. “Our bench was fantastic this year. The problem is we have a lot of free agents on our team and I think a lot of them are going to be attractive, and so we have to fight to keep our own first and then try to build from that point. We’re going to have a difficult time. It’s going to be tough.”

See more on the Clippers:

Rivers can’t envision any player in the league picking up his player option for next season, given the sharp escalation of the salary cap that’s poised to create a player-friendly market this summer, notes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Rivers confirmed that means he expects Cole Aldrich, Wesley Johnson and son Austin Rivers to opt out from the Clippers this summer, and the coach/executive also believes Paul and Griffin will opt out in the summer of 2017, Bolch relays (Twitter links).
Doc Rivers said today that he wants to re-sign as many of the team’s free soon-to-be free agents as possible this summer, according to Bolch (Twitter links). “They all want to come back, but they’ve all played well and so they’ve all made it more difficult,” Rivers said. Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford, Luc Mbah a Moute, Pablo Prigioni and Jeff Ayres are the Clippers on expiring contracts, and presumably the same sentiment applies to the trio with player options.
Crawford said after Friday’s game that he’d like to re-sign with the Clippers, tweets Jen Beyrle of The Oregonian. The 36-year-old Crawford and J.J. Redick, who turns 32 next month, both said on Redick’s podcast for The Vertical that they’d like to play five more years, and Redick would like to sign a four-year deal when his existing contract expires in the summer of 2017, as Markazi relays via Twitter.
Paul Pierce has one more year left in him, Rivers believes, according to Bolch (Twitter link). Pierce, 38, is signed through the 2017/18 season but is 50-50 on whether to retire this summer.
The creation of a Clippers D-League affiliate will be a matter of discussion this summer, Rivers said, cautioning that it remains uncertain whether a team will be in place in time for next season, tweets Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. The Clips are reportedly exploring the idea of starting a D-League team in Bakersfield, California.

Clippers Notes: Pierce, Paul, Griffin

April 30th, 2016 at 11:34am CST by Will Joseph

Paul Pierce said after the Clippers’ playoff exit Friday night that he didn’t want to make an emotional decision about his future and was 50-50 on whether he would return next season, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. Pierce, 38, is under contract for $3.5MM next year with a partially guaranteed salary the following year, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders points out (on Twitter).

Here’s more on the Clippers:

The idea that the Clippers need to break up Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin is exaggerated and the team instead needs to make wiser decisions on free agents and improve in player development, Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com argues in an Insider piece. There’s no way the Clippers would receive the same value in return if they were deal one of them, Andrew Han adds in the same piece.
If the Clippers must trade one, however, that player should be Paul because the star point guard will be 31 at the start of next season, Han writes.
It may be time to shake things up, considering Paul and Griffin have played together for five seasons and have yet to win a title, opines Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Bresnahan suggests it may be worthwhile for the Clippers to make a deal with the Knicks and acquire Carmelo Anthony.

Los Angeles Notes: Paul, Griffin, Walton, Fisher

April 26th, 2016 at 6:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers don’t want their search for a new coach to be a prolonged one and hope to have their new hire in place prior to the NBA draft in June, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. “We’re looking to have a big offseason,” GM Mitch Kupchak said. “It would be nice to have our staff in place during the draft and certainly when July 1st [when teams can begin negotiating with free agents] rolls around.” The executive also expressed hope for a quick turnaround in fortune for the franchise, Oram adds. “We feel we’re positioned well as an organization to quickly be in a different position a year from now,” Kupchak said. “Does that mean 50 or 55 [wins]? I don’t know. … But I do feel we can make great progress.”

Here’s more from L.A.:

The Clippers‘ playoff hopes took a major blow today with the team announcing that point guard Chris Paul and power forward Blake Griffin would likely miss the remainder of the postseason. Paul underwent surgery on his right hand this morning and will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks after fracturing his hand during Monday night’s game, while Griffin is dealing with a left quad injury and is done for the year.
Luke Walton, who is rumored to be a favorite for the vacant Lakers coaching post, reiterated his love for being with the Warriors and his focus on the playoffs when asked about potentially coming to Los Angeles next season, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays. “I love my job here,” Walton said. “I absolutely love it. I love the playoff battles that we’re in right now. We’ve got prep work to do. Every bit of focus right now should be on the playoffs. So any questions I’m asked about anything else is a distraction in my opinion, and then I’m being selfish. So I’m not answering anything about anything except for our team and the playoffs.”
Former Knicks coach Derek Fisher has expressed interest in the Lakers coaching position, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). Fired by the Knicks in February, Fisher’s record in a season and a half with New York was 40-96.
Clippers small forward Paul Pierce is adjusting to limited minutes during the postseason but understands his true value as a veteran is to provide leadership, writes Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.